Israel Delays Gaza Withdrawal over Hamas Electoral Strength

Part of the never-ending Middle East Peace Process is the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip. The government of Ariel Sharon had been ready to announce a handover of power to the Palestinian Authority on July 25. The the Palestinians held municipal elections. The Israeli evacuation of Gaza was then delayed three weeks or so. The reason is the success of Hamas at the polls, a terrorist entity and a social service provider. Seems the wrong guys got the votes.

Of the 84 municipal councils under the Palestinian Authority, the old guard Fatah secularist of the late and unlamented Yasser "Fingers in the Till" Arafat won control of about 50. Yet, Hamas managed to carry 30 including Rafah in the Gaza Strip and Qalqilya, a West Bank town. In raw votes, Fatah got about 55%, but Hamas came next with 35%. Hamas does not recognize "the Zionist entity," and has no interest in compromise for other than tactical and strategic reasons. Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the found of Hamas who met with a violent end not long ago, had offered the Israelis a hudna, truce rather than peace, in exchange for withdrawal to the pre-1967 borders and settlement of the status of Jerusalem and Palestinians right of return. In other words, he was prepared to negotiate the end of Israel as a Jewish state rather shoot it to bits.

The municipal elections were just the appetizer for Hamas. Palestinians vote in parliamentary elections on July 17, and a significant number of Hamas supporters in the legislature would make the future very difficult for Israel and Fatah. Any move toward a settlement of the issues arising as a result of the Gaza evacuation will look like a sellout by Fatah, or too generous by Israel in the eyes of its own violent dead-enders.

For those outside the Middle East, it is hard to believe that 35% of the Palestinian electorate would back a terrorist group -- and they wouldn't. Those Palestinians, rightly or wrongly, don't see Hamas as a gang of murdering thugs. Yes, they agree Hamas has a military wing that does undertake strikes against Israel, but they note that Israel is occupying Palestinian land in violation of international law. They also point out that there is another segment of operations that engages in building religious institutions, hospitals and schools. "Terrorist" is a poor description of a group that builds emergency rooms and kindergartens, and those things will get votes as much as defying the occupier.

So, the Sharon government has put off its withdrawal from Gaza until after the dust settles from the Palestinian parliamentary elections. As Silvan Shalom, the Israeli Foreign Minister, has said, "There is no place, nor can there ever be, in a democratic society for a political party that bears arms [many Ulstermen agree]. It seems to me unreasonable to move forward with the implementation of the disengagement plan as if nothing happened and hand over the territories only for Hamas to create there a 'Hamastan'." In other words, the Israelis want to make sure the right guys win the elections before they get out of Gaza. And therein lies the real problem with Mr. Bush's crusade for global democracy -- not every voter in Palestine thinks like a Texan.


© Copyright 2005 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.
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